Thursday the smallest gap. Wasn't The Chase around the same level this time last year?

Hulk hasn't succeeded on film in the way Marvel has wanted, he's good as a supporting player but not as a lead. I think with Ant-Man and possibly Doctor Strange as films, I dont think Hulk will get another solo film.

An X-Men series would be interesting, Fox have Days of Future Past which links the original X-Men films to First Class, I think if Fox and Marvel wanted to a TV series, it'll probably be The New Mutants. Fox has focused mostly on Wolverine and the core cast of X-Men given that has made the most money.

It'll be interesting if Big Bang Theory can achieve bigger ratings, CBS sort of missed the opportunity of airing after the Superbowl instead of opting for Undercover Boss and Elementary, speaking of Superbowl, wonder what Fox plans to air after The Superbowl? There's got a lot to choose from.

I'm not particularly a Strictly fan (although my wife loves it) but I think you might be right, there's a buzz about this year's show. I think they will also benefit from the bigger studio at Elstree. But why do I have this feeling it will be Brucie's last hurrah - the Miranda tribute last Saturday seemed to be the BBC drawing a bit of line although it would have benefitted from some tighter editing and some more archive clips.

Combined figure is fantastic for BBC One and ITV as always, and shows how much Pointless and The Chase have boosted the slot.

I'm surprised how Strictly continues to do well when it is basically the same every year. Other shows start to look tired when they've been on for so many years, but Strictly doesn't seem to be one of them. Brucie's jokes, the judges comments ('Seven','Disaster' etc), yet the audience laps it up as if it's the first time they've seen it.

Is that really fair to total up though? Great figures, yes, but one runs for 45 minutes and the other 55.

I think it does. It's light entertainment at its best.


We'll see. I think this series could see the show at its peak.


Haha, I think it's gonna be true though. X Factor has gone quite stale now, but Strictly still feels fresh and entertaining. I think it has the biggest chance of topping the ratings chart this year.

Way off topic but I think Hulk gets another solo outing as part of Phase III if only because they aren't likely to have a fourth Iron Man outing which leaves a major hole on the schedule to be filled. If Ruffalo does another well received turn in Avengers 2 Hulk is pretty much all they'll have. Unless Thor and/or CapAm exploded with their second outings.

And the X-Men universe is just huge giving Fox an endless list of possibilities for film and television. Its somewhat telling that when asked about female characters he'd like to bring into the Marvel films Whedon's response is 'they're all in the X-Men'. There's a wealth of fantastic stuff and Fox really should be making more of it than they are. I live in hope that Bryan Singer's recent comments about the X-universe potentially being every bit as big as the Marvel cinematic universe means they'll finally going to start making something of it.


Elementary was a really weird choice last year.

Fox have announced New Girl for the post-Super Bowl slot. It didn't seem like a great idea when they announced it in May and it seems like an even worse one now.

I have no idea how to judge Citizen Khan - what I have seen can be funny but somehow I just feel uncomfortable watching it. It now has a decent slot but I am not convinced it will grow much.

If it is his final year presenting the show (because he's decided to retire) then the BBC might be well served to announce it sooner rather than later. Its likely to draw a little more interest to the show. Those really invested in the whole X Factor vs. Strictly thing might want to suggest announcing it the Monday before the X Factor live shows start. Swallow up its press cycle with reports on Bruce's final year on Strictly. Could also drive a monster rating for the Christmas special since presumably that would be his actual swansong. Maybe turn it into some kind of Strictly says goodbye to Brucie thing.

He was demonstrating how the two quizzes have amazingly strengthened the teatime audience. There is nothing political about his comments.

You've got these the wrong way round. Is it just the names that are wrong or the ratings as well?

Other US adjustments – The Crazy Ones adjusted down, Michael Fox and X Factor adjusted up.

Big Bang Theory (8PM) – 5.5 [18.99]
Big Bang Theory (8:30PM) – 6.1 [20.44]
The Crazy Ones – 3.9 [15.52]
The Michael J Fox Show – 2.2 [7.50]
The X Factor – 2.1 [6.47]

I know what you mean and I have thought the same maybe the slightly older demographic like this about the show. After all a lot of the rest of the output of all channels seems designed to exclude them.

Brucie's final show will be a ratings blockbuster by any standards but as successive BBC1 controllers have said it will be his choice not theirs.I note Danny Cohen went on record a couple of years ago as saying Vernon Kay was not in the frame to succeed him - despite Mrs Kay's efforts to lobby for him - and Cohen is now in a position to ensure that.

I think we will see a few more years of Bruce yet, you could tell last week and tonight that he still loves it.
As much as people moan about him, the show will certainly suffer without him

I delved into Google's cache and found the ratings for the equivalent week last year, commencing 17 September 2012. Both shows were smaller on average, but Pointless particularly so, as it missed the Broadcast top 100 that week:

Pointless v The Chase (inc +1)

Mon 10th - <2.44m v 2.62m (19.95%), #84 in the week
Tue 11th - <2.44m v 2.47m (19.4%), #96 in the week
Wed 12th - <2.44m v 2.61m (20.7%), #85 in the week
Thu 13th - <2.44m v 2.55m (19.3%), #87 in the week
Fri 14th - <2.44m v 2.69m (20.3%), #81 in the week

The previous week, Pointless charted only once, at #88 (2.52m/17.95% on the Monday), and The Chase charted just three times on weekdays, between #98 (2.33m/18.1%) and #92 (2.48m/19.4%).

The celebrity special of The Chase collected nearly 5m on the Sunday night in the first week, and 4.4m in an earlier slot in the second week.

Whoops, sorry. The ratings were attached to the correct programme; only the times were wrong, so:

Correction
BBC One
20:00 - Waterloo Road: 3.02m (14.7%)
21:00 - Super Giant Animals: 2.71m (13.0%)
* 12-month slot average: 3.8m (16.9%)

Perhaps subconsciously I didn't consider Super Giant Animals 9pm fare; then again would Waterloo Road be 9pm fare?

People have said similar about I'm a Celebrity: a fairly rigid format, but a different mix of personalities, different 'performances' and different jokes each year (Brucie's are usually terribly corny, but they do change!). That's what keeps both fresh (along with the short run, for IAC).

So Pointless is by far the bigger growing show, and that's without that pesky +1, which means the Chase even gets close nowadays.

Much Better show, Much better raingsr

This is getting ridiculous. ITV have a +1 channel; they need to start actively utilising it - start The X Factor at 7.30pm then promote the +1 option at 8.30pm. It doesn't matter if the rest of the evening is effected; they don't air any other big show.

I think Strictly and The X Factor are on for far too long, though. Neither show really needs more than 12 contestants; it's really a case of flogging a programme for all it's worth.


Those are dire 12 month averages for the two main channels - both under 4m???

And ITV's is including +1.

Unless the NBC series is going to be a satire of eighties Britain lead by a morally debauched scouser, I would suspect it won't be close to the Hellblazer comic.

Edit- I forgot Constantine has a DC universe comic now. Curse you new 52! Let's hope they cast a Brit anyway.

The Chase was beating Pointless later last year in the Winter months, but the break seems to have affected The Chase. At least ITV are trying to find new hits in that slot (even though Take on the Twisters flopped), whereas the BBC obviously can't be arsed. Hopefully Paul O' Grady's show performs well.

Is it only me that thinks I would be nice to have a new teatime Chat show ??

strictly was great last night, probably 7 or 8, hopeful rise for tonight Six great celebs to start, see me routing for all of them
Comments earlier about strictly hasn't changed in ten years, actually it has, maybe small but significant in keeping the show fresh, unlike x factor which has gone full circle trying to keep it fresh any way possible whether that's for the show or just the press.